Automatic car-coupling.



No. 708,206. Patented sept. 2, |902.

S. COX &*G. W. WARDEN. AUTOMATICCARCOUPLING.

(Application medmv. 22,l 1901.)

(No Model.)-

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UNITEDY STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SOLOMON COX AND GEORGE VARDEN, OF GRANGER, IOWA.

AAUTOlVIATlC CAR-COU'PLING.

SPEIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent o. 708,206, dated September2, 1902.

Application lerl November 22, 1901. Serial No. 83.249. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that We, SOLOMON COX and GEORGE W. WARDEN, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Granger, in the county of Dallas and State ofIowa, have invented a new and useful Automatic Car-Coupling, of whichthe following is a specification.

l-Ieretofore in automatic car-couplings of the pin-and-link species andalso in the Janney or vertical-jaw type Various forms of devices havebeen used for supporting pins elevated as required to admit links andjaws to enter cavities in draw-heads to drop the pins to engage linksand lock-jaws to couple cars and to lift pins as required to uncouplecars. Our object is to provide improved, simple, strong, and durabledevices specially adapted to accomplish such results advantageously inthe use of links and pins and also in the use of vertical jaws and pins;and our invention consists in the construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in ourclaims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1is a top view showing our invention applied to the end of a car and adrawhead having a vertical jaw pivoted thereto and the operativemechanism in position and readiness for automatically coupling cars whenthey come together on a track. Fig; 2

shows a draw-head adapted for the use of a coupling-link in place ofvertical jaws. Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the couplingpinelevated as required to admit a vertical jaw or ra link to enter thecavity in the drawhead and to be engaged and'secured bythe dropping ofthe pin to automatically couple cars together.

The numeral lO designates the platformat the end of a car, and 1l adraw-head having a vertical jaw 12 pivoted thereto. Crankshafts 13 and14 are mounted in bearings 15, fixed to the platform 10. A. pin 16 isconnected with the outer arms of the crankshafts by means of across-head 17, attached to the top of the pin, and straight bars 18 and19, pivotally connected with the ends of the cross-head at their innerends and with the arms of the rock-shaft, as shown in Fig. 3, or in anysuitable way, so that the pin can be lifted by the joint operations ofthe rockshafts, as required in uncoupling cars. A straight bar 20, thathas bridles 2l and 22 projecting vertically therefrom, is slidablymounted in bearings 23 and 24, Xed to the side portions of the platform,as shown in Fig, 1, or inpany suitable way in such a manner that theinner ends of the crank-shafts 13 and 14 will enter and traverse thebridles 21 and 22 when the bar 2O is moved longitudinally orreciprocated as required to drop the pin '16 in the act of coupling andto lift it to uncouple. The ends of the sliding bar 20 are provided Withhandles 25 at their ends that are within reach of a person at the sideof a car, so that the bar can be manually operated by pushing or pullingas required for actuating the crank-shafts, and thereby the straightbars 18 and 19, to lift the pin 16 to unlock a vertical jaw 12 or freelink 26 as required in uncoupling cars. For operating the sliding bar 2Oadvantageously by a person on a car or the platform of a car ahand-lever 27 is fulcrumed to the car and pivotally connected with thesliding bar. For automatically operating the sliding bar and dropping.the pin 20, as required in coupling,l

an elbow-shaped lever 28 is pivoted to the platform 10 and one armprovided with an extension 29, that passes through a slot in thedraw-bar or draw-head in such a manner that it will be engaged by a jawor link carried on another car, and thereby vibrated, and a pawl 30,pivoted to the other end of the lever, will be in engagement with ashoulder 3l on the sliding bar 2O and transmit power and motion to thebar 20, so as toallow the crank-shafts 13 and 14 to rock and the bars 18and 19 and the pin 2O to descend. A bridle a, fixed on the platform,raises and lowers the pawl 30 as required to engage and disengage thepawl from the shoulder 31 on the sliding bar 20. A spring 32, connectedwith the platform and the lever 28, normally retains the extension ofits arm in the draw-head as required to be engaged by a jaw or' link inthe act of coupling two cars together.

Having thus described the purpose of our invention and the construction,arrangement, and combination of all its parts, its practical operationand utility will be readily under- IOO stood by persons familiar withthe art to which it pertains, and what we claim as new7 and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a car-coupling, two crankshafts in bearings fixed to the sideportions of a carplatform, a pin, two bars pivotally connected with thetop of the pin and means for jointly actuating the crank-shafts forlift-ing the pin, arranged and combined to operate in the manner setforth for the purposes stated.

2. In a car-coupling, a pin, bars pivotally connected with the top ofthe pin, crankshafts mounted on the platform and connected with the endsof said bars, a straight bar slidably mounted on the platform, bridlesprojecting vertically from the sliding bar to admit the inner ends ofthe crank-shafts and means for moving the slidable bar, arranged andcombined to operate in the manner set forth, for the purposes stated.

3. In a car-coupling, a draw-head connected with the platform at the endof a car, a spring-actuated elbow-shaped lever pivoted to the platformand one end of the lever extended through a slot in the draw-head, a bar'slidably mounted on the platform to extend extended through saidbridles, a bar pivotally connected with each outer arm of thecrankshafts and a pin pivotally connected with the ends of said bars,arranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth for thepurposes stated.

4. In a car-coupling, a pin-operating mechanism comprising a pin, twobars pivotally connected with the. top of the pin to extend laterallyinreverse ways, crank-shafts mounted on the car-platform and their outerends pivotally connected with the ends of said bars, a bar mounted onthe platform to slide in reverse ways and .provided with bridlesprojecting upward therefrom to be traversed by the inner ends of thecrank-shafts, a shoulder on the slidable bar, a spring-actuatedelbow-shaped lever fulcrumed to the platform and one end extendedthrough a slot in the draw-head and a pawl pivoted to its other end toengage the shoulder on the slidable bar, all arranged and combined tooperate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated.

SOLOMON COX. GEORGE W. WARDEN.

Witnesses:

W. A. PoLK, THOMAS G. ORWIG.

